C— NRILF 


B    E 


f    ' 


' 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


: 


JOHN  MALVIN 


A  NARRATIVE, 


-. 


. 
• 


m 


CONTAINING    AN    AUTIIRNTIC:   A«  COUNT  «>F  HIS  FIFTY  YFARS*  STRIUUil.fr: 
IN  TIIR  STATF.  OF  «>|||o  IN   lUl  M  f    ••»    1  UK  A\U  Kit   \N  SI.AX  I  .  AM* 

THE  F.^I;AL  RK:IITS  I»F  AI.I.  MKN  ni-  KMKI  mi:  i  \\\  umioi;  i 

REFfrKfr.NLfr   TO  RACK  Ok  rol.oR;    H»kTY  SKVKN  YKAKS 
OFSAIUTIMK    HKINi;  FXPKNhKD  IN  TIIK^-- 
CITY  OF  i:LKVfr;i.ANI». 


CLHVF.I.AND: 
LEADER  I-RINIIM;  COMPANY,  146  srrERioR  siRFfri. 

1879 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


JOHN  MALVIN 


A  NARRATIVE, 


' 
CONTAINING   AN    AUTHENTIC   ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  FIFTY  YEARS*  STRt'<;C.|.F 

IN  THE  STATE  OF  OHIO  IN  HF.HAl.F  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SLAVE.  ANI> 

THE  HM-AI.  KKIHIS  OF  AM.  MF.N  BEFORE   I  UK  t*A\V  \VITIIOl   1^ 

REFKRKNCK  TO  RACE  OR  COl.oR  ;    FOKTV-SKVEN  YKARS 

UFSAIUTIME    BKINO   KM'tM'Mt  IN  TIIF. 

CITY  OF  CLEVELAND. 


CLKVU.AN!*: 

LEADER    PRINTING   CH»MI'ANV.    146  SUPERIOR    STRKK1. 
1879. 


Reproduced  by 
DUOPAGE  PROCESS 

in  the 
U.S.  of  America 


Micro  Photo  Division 
Bell  &  Howell  Company 
Cleveland  12,  Ohio 


' 


IOAN  STAO? 


»• 


A3 


PREFACE: 


Many  of  my  friends  of  this  city  desirinjr  me  to  <rive 
to  the  puhlie  the  history  of  my  life,  ami  the  details  ami 
incident*  connected  therewith,  I  hesitated  for  a  h»ii£ 
time,  to  make  the  undertaking,  hut  from  their  continual 
solicitation*,'  I  at  last  concluded  to  write  a  narrative, 
which,  strictly  speaking,  is  no  history  of  my  life,  hut 
an  enumeration  of-  the  principal  events  which  have 
occurred,  ami  with  which  I  have  heen  personally  con 
nected.  Not  having  a  record  to  ifnide  me,  I  have  heen 
obliged  to  rely  entirely  on  my  memory.  It  is  very  pos- 
sihle,  therefore,  that  there  mny  IM»  sonic  sli«cht  errors  as 
to  dates,  and  matters  of  minor  importance,  hut  as  to  the 
events  themselves,  I  can  safely  assure  my  friends  that 
they  are  related  substantially  as  they  occurred. 


• 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 


CIIAITKK  I. 

•    .         I  was  horn   in    IVmee   William  County,  Virginia,  in 
tin*  year  17!'~»,  in  .1  little  town   known  hy   tin-   name   of 
,  Ihimfries.     My   mother,  whose  name   was    haleus   Mal- 

vin,  was  a  tree  woman,  hut  my  lather  was  a  slave  hehmi;- 
intr  to  a  man  named  Henderson.  In  my  seventh  vear  I 
was  IxiiiiMl  out  to  this  Henderson  as  an  apprentiee. 
Henderson  also  lived  in  humfries,  owned  several  farms 
in  Wood  County,  W.'Ya.,  ami  was  a  la  r  ire  slave  owner. 
He  ha<l  a  rl«-rk  named  John  <  Jiillitli,  who  was  an  nn- 
.  married  man.  ami  whose  husiness  it  was  to  keep  the 
aeeounts  ot'  the  several  farms,  ami  1  was  assigned  hv 
Mr.  Ilctidorsoti  to  wait  upon  this  rlerk.  I  attended 
him  personally,  hlaeked  his  hoots,  took  eare  of  his 
horse,  and  so  on.  and  when  through  with  these  avuea- 
tions,  at  times,  I  would  i;o  out  into  the  Held  and  work 
;  with  the  other  hands.  At  dinner  time  my  duty  was  to 
£o  to  the  house  and  prepare  the  tahle.  After  dinner  I 
would  return  a^ain  to  the  field.  Sueh  was  my  daily 
employment. 

I  was  kept  regularly  at  this  employment  for  nearly 
four  years,  when,  in  the  year  1*07,  the  peoph  of  Wood 
( Vw II ty  were  greatly  agitated  and  aroused  hy  the  dis- 
eovery  of  a  plotted  rebellion,  whieli  ha<l  heen  foment e«l 
hy  Dominiek  Hlcnnerhassett  and  Aaron  l»urr,  who  had 
their  headquarters  at  Ulcnncrhassett  Island,  on  the 


6 

9 

Ohio  River,  three  miles  In-low  the  mouth,  of  the  Little 
Kuiiawlm.  1  was  at  that  time  removed  from  my  pres 
ent  situation  to  trie  of  the  farms  in  that  vicinity,  situated 
on  what  is  known  as  Cow  Creek,  ami  remained  there 
until  the  breaking  tint  of  the  war  of  IKIJ.  (iritlith  had 
preceded  me  to  this  farm,  and  when  I  arrived  there  I 
was  kept  at  substantially  the  same  oeettpation.  During 
this  period  1  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
.miseries  of  slavery.  Though  I  was  an  apprentice,  I 
was  treated  little  hetter  than  a  slave  myself.  For  my 
clothing,  I  was  supplied  every  year  with  one  pair  of 
sh*cs,  two  pairs  of  tow  linen  pantaloons,  one  pair  of 
negro  cotton  pantaloons,  and  a  negro  cotton  round 
jacket.  My  food  consisted  of  one  peck  of  corn  meal  a 
week.  Sometimes  1  received  a  supply  of  salt,  hut  they 
were  very  sparing  of  that  luxury,  and  I  was  compelled 
most,  of  the  time  to  go  without  it.  I  was  obliged  to 
resort  to  oilier  means  to  «,htain  food. 

The  luxury  which  I  observed  among  the  neighboring 
slave-owners,  and  t  he  sty  I  •  of  living  of  my  master,  stim 
ulated  my  appetite  for  some  of  the  good  things  of  tjiis 
world,  and  being  of  an  adventurous  spirit,  like  most 
other  hoys,  I  concluded  to  avail  myself  of  any  means 
that  would  enable  me  to  procure  something  more  sub- 
st.mtial  than  corn  meal.  There  was  another  hoy  on  the. 
farm  who  was  a  little  older  than  myself,  and  who  roomed 
with  me  in  the  same  cabin.  Whenever  we  felt  a  desire 
for  meat  we  would  provide  ourselves  with  clubs,  and  in 
the  night  time  visit  the  hog  hods.  The  hogs  were 
allowed  to  run  at  large  in  the  woods,  ami  when  we 
would  lind  a  sow  with  her  pigs,  we  would  drive  her  up 
and  ,make  a  selection  of  one  of  the  pigs,  and  hy  good 
ust-  of  our  clubs  secure  the  fruit  of  our  adventure.  We 
'would  then  take  the  pig  to  our  cahin,  make  a  hot  tire, 
instead  of  scalding,  we  would  singe  the  hair  oil 


from  the  pi^.  .  Thou  we  would  dross  and  roast  the 
to  our  fancy,  wliioli,  with  our  corn  bread,  made  us  a 
moal  wliioli  wo  relished  all  the  more  l»y  reason  »»f  the 
risk  and  clangor  wo  ran  iu  obtaining  it.  When  we 
waiitod  a  change  in  our  diet  we  would  i^«»  out  ainon^ 
tho  cows  and  gvl  SOUK-  milk.  In  our  first  adventure  of 
this  kind  I  procured  a  juir:  I  inserted  tin*  trat  into  the 
mouth  of  tho  juvr  Jind  was  about  to  proceed  milkmir, 
when  tho  OM w  mado  a  sudden  movement  with  our  of 
her  hind  le^s  and  struek  mo  on  the  thiich.  I  fell  over 
and  lay  until  fh«'  pain  suhsided,  when  I  -..t  up  and 
found  ttitothor  eow  more  doeile  than  the  lir^t,  and  sue- 
C'N'ded  in  :c»-ttin^  tho  jii«f  lilh-d.  Unas!  pi^  was  well 
enough  in  its  way,  hut  we  sometimes  wanted  a  ehuu^e 
of  meat,  and  then  wo  would  ijo  out  anion^  tho  sheep 
find  oaf  oil  a  him!>,  and  unhutton  its  collar  (cut  its  throat.) 

One  niicht  I  had  retired  as  usual,  to  nice}*,  hut  helore 
retirini;  I  had  placed  a  pot  of  walcrover  the  lire  place, 
in  which  I  had  put  my  shirt  to  hoil.  \Vhcn  I  woke  up 
F  found  to  my  dismay  that  the  pot  was  ^lowinij  red,  and 
that  all  tho  water  had  hoilcd  out.  At  the  hottom  of  tho 
pot  was  :i  hand  full  of  ashes,  heiuij  all  that  remained  of 
my  shirt.  This  was  tho  only  shirt  I  had,  and  when  I 
notified  tho  clerk  of  my  mishap,  in  order  to  recompense 
mo  for  my  loss,  ho  jjave  mo  a  severe  llo «ririnij,  and 
throu-Lrh  tho  whole  winter  1  was  ohlii^ed  to  »jo  without 
a  shirt  on  my  hack  and  no  covering  hut  my  jacket.' 

On  the  hroakiuir  out  of  the  war  of  l*l:J  I  attempted, 
to  run  away,  and  for  that  purpose  I  followed  a  hody  of 
soldiers.  I  attempted  to  got  aboard  one  of  their  boats 
on  tho  Ohio  Uivcr,  but  not  (Mieeeedinjf,  I  was  compelled 
to  return  tf>  my  station,  ami  I  never  \va.<  missed,  nor  wan 
the  fact  of  my  leaving  ever  discovered. 


.     8 

On  another  occasion  I  was  taken  by  this  clerk  Grif 
fith,  my  wrists  were  tied  crosswise  together,  -ami  my 
hands  were  then  brought  dowti  ami  tied  to  my  ankles; 
my  shirt  was  taken  off,  and  in  that  condition  1  watt  com 
pelled  to  lie  un  the  ground,  and  he  began  flogging  me. 
lie  whipped  me  on  one  si<le  till  the  itcsh  was  all  raw 
and  bleeding;  then  he  rolled  me  over  like  a  log  and 
whipped  me  on  the  other  side  in  the  same  manner. 
When  1  was  untied  I  put  on  my  shirt.  So  severely  was 
my  IK-- 1 1  lacerated  that  my  shirt  stuck  to  my  hack,  and 
1  was  imuUe  to  get  it  oil'  without  the  assistance  of  an 
old  lady  who  lived  on  the  farm,  who  applied  grease  to 
it.  1  had  committed  no  crime  or  offense  that  jnstitied 
any  such  treatment,  lie  hud  ordered  me  to  chop  some 
logs,  so  that  they  could  lie  rolled  together  to  he  htirned. 
His  hrother  was  to  attend  to  the  burning  of  the  logs, 
and  I  had  chopped  them  and  went  away.  The  logs  had 
been  rolled  together  ami  a  tire  started,  hut  by  some  acci 
dent  the  lire  reached  the  fence  and  burnt  live  or  six  of 
the  panels.  As  soon  as  1  heard  of  this  I  ran  to  the  fence 
and  stopped  the  lire  from  spreading,  and  sat  there  until 
I;*  o'clock  at  night  to  watch  and  keep  the  cattle  from 
going  through  into  the  corn.  The  clerk  then  came 
home,  and  finding  things  in  this  condition,  he  stripped 
and  whipped  me  in  the  manner  I  have  stated.  1 
resolve* I  at  that  time  that  if  ever  1  should  grow  older 
and  stronger  1  would  kill  him,  hut  1  never  got  an  oppor 
tunity  to  he  revenged  upon  him,  as  in  lsl:I  Mr.  Hender 
son  died,  and  1  was  at  liberty  again,  and  returned  to  my 
parents  in  Kast  Virginia,  and  never  saw  the  clerk  after 
wards. 

My  lather  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  I  began  to 
work  with  him  at  his  bench  until  I  had  learned  the 
trade.  I  hiring  the  time  I  was  working  with  my  father 
1  became  possessed  of  a  dcoire  to  learn  to  read.  When 


I  would  see  people  read  a  newspaper  or  hook,  I  felt 
£reat  delight  in  what  seemed  to  me  to  he  />/•«//»/  /«iM «"*»*/, 
as  I  considered  it.  When  I  hoar«l  any  one  read,  my 
.curiosity  would  he  exeited,  and  I  would  listen  atten 
tively  to  the  matter  read,  and  I  at  last  concluded  that  I 
should  like  to  fttlk  /»/*«//*/  too,  like  the 'white  people.  An 
excellent  opportunity  was  afforded  me.  1  knew  an  old 
slave  who  was  past  lahor,  and  who  lived  in  a  eahin 
three  miles  from  where  I  did.  and  who  hy  some  means 
had  learned  to  read.  He  eouid  read  the  Itihle  «piile 
readily,  and  lie  consented  to  teach  me  to  read  and  spell. 
We  ohtaiiied  liirht  to  read  hy  means  of  pine  knots, 
which  I  would  p»  out  and  find  in  the  dark  hy  feeling 
with  my  feet.  I  would  carry  them  to  the  old  man's 
cabin  and  put  them  in  the  fire-place.  We  did  not  dale 
to  talk  loud,  lest  we  should  he  overheard,  and  had  to 
confine  ourselves  to  whispers.  Such  were  the  means 
and  circumstances,  under  which  I  learned  to  read  and 
spell.  After  1  had  learned  to  read  I  he^an  to  attend 
several  religious  meetings,  and  heeame  so  wrought,  up 
with  religious  fervor  that  I  concluded  to  preach  the 
trospel.  I  joined  the  llaptist  (1hurch,  and,  though  I 
had  no  education,  I  applied  to  the  church  of  which  I 
was  a  memher,  for  a  license  to  preach.  That  not  hein*; 
permissihle  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  hv  rea><»n  of 
my  color,  the  church  refused  h>  «ri\v  me  a  license,  hut 
i^ave  me  a  vcrhal  permission  to  pivsich  the  gospel. 

I  hepm  preaehinur  amonir  the  slaves,  and  even  sol 
emnized  marriages  hy  permission  from  the  owners. 
While  preaching,  I  continued  to  live  with  my  parents, 
and  remained  with  them  until  1S:>7.  during  \\  1m  h  time 
I  availed  myself  of  every  opportunity  I  could  «jet.  to 
read,  whenever  I  could  ohtaiu  a  paper  or  hook.  Noth 
ing  eventful  occurred  to  me,  howev<T,  during  this, 
period,  until  I  left  my  home,  as  I  shall  re'atc  in  the 
following  chapter. 


OIIAITKk  IF. 

Iii  tin-  yearlSJJ,  a  spirit  of  adventure,  natural  to  most 
g  ini'ii.  took  possession  of  me.  and  I  eoneluded  to 
leave  Virginia  and  LT«»  i«>  Ohio.  No*  Colored  man  was 
|Mknuttted  to  travel  through  Virginia  without .  prodiieinij 
evidenees  in  some  way  "i  his  freedom.  I  had  a  short 
lime  prior  (o  my  departure,  applied  tor  and  ohtained 
freedom  pap*  -rs,  (o  whirh  was  atiixed  tin  signature  of 
the  CU-rk  ofthe  County,  and  the  st>al  of  the  Court. 

I  aHeetioiwtety  took  leave  of  my  pan  nts,  with  nothing 
lull  my  dollies  that  wereon  .nv  hack,  and  ::n  ex  Ira  shirt, 
and  -tartetl  a  toot  on  my  joiirney«  hy  way  «•!  what  was 
ealled  Hie  \Viin-ln»>lr'r  !%<»ad.  The  lirsi  village  l.i-anie. 
to  after  eros.-in^  C»  lar  Kim,  was  Kivntsviile;  the 
M-.  .in.1  \\.i-  Hay  Marki-l,  j».»->inur  the  (mil  Unn  \loiin- 
tain  al  what  was  railed  the  Thoroughfare  <ia|»;  th<-n 
|iiirsuin<r  my  i-onrse  until  I  earnc  t«»  Oak  Hill,  .in  i,-i 
«leiiee  of  Chie!  '*lnstiee  Marshall;  then  erossini^  the  l»ine 
Kidire  Mountain  at  A^hly's  (ja|»,  then  down  alon*;  the 
Shcnandoali  Uiver,  eros.sin*;  that  at  I  Jerry's  Kerry,  leav 
ing  MillwtMid  and  \VhiteJHist  to  the  left;  them-e  to 
VVinehester,  PrtNleriek  County;  them-e  enissin*;  the 
s(»uth  hraiich  of  the  I'otomae,  near  Uumlcy's  and  so  on 
to  Cln-at  Uiver  and  Tatterson  ('ivek.  At  Uiimley  I 
>(«.|»|MM|  at  a  magistrates  ollire  and  |»r<Mlnri-d  the  neees- 
sary  papers  of  my  freedom,  and  Was  permitted  to  pro- 
eeed.  That  was  the  only  magistrate  I  ealled  on  <lnrin^ 
inv  joiirnev.  Slmi-ily  after  leaving  Uumh'y,  I  was  met 
li\  two  men,  one  of  whom  had  a  do*£  and  riile.  They 
asked  me  who  1  was,  and  demanded  proof.  1  showed 
them  my  papers,  and  they  let  me  [KISS. 


11 

I  forded  all  tin*  streams  mentioned*  and  then  came  to 
Clarkshurif,  the  metropolis  of  Harrison  County, thence 
to  tin*  Dry  Kidi^e  in  Wooil  County,  and  from  thence  to 
tin*  Ohio  |{iv«  r.  to  the  farm  where  I  h.i«l  formerly  lived 
on  Cow  Creek  ;  crossing  Cow  Creek,  Calf  Crook  and  Hull 
Creek  ami  so  on  down  |ho.  rivoc,  until  I  came  opposite 
Marietta,  ami  there  I  crossed  l»y  terry.  Tin-  hoy  who  was 
rowing  mo  over  the  rivor,  had  ir°t  to  tl'n1  ninhllo  «»(  thr 
Htivain;  wlirn  lu«  was  ilist'ovorril  1>y  his  (MII{I|<»V«M\  who, 
sfrintr  that  I  was  a  roloivd  man,  oroVivd  tin-  h«»y  t«»  n»w 
mo  hark,  lie  then  askt*<|  mo  sonu*  i|iii'stit»ns,  and  I 
prosoiitotl  my  iVoodnin  jiap<T>,  ami,  after  examining 
them  he  allowed  tlio  |H»V  to  row  me  across.  I  walked  a 
distance  of  :}<M)  miles,  from  IVim-e  William  Omniy  to 
Marietta,  Ohio,  in  the  short  spare  of  six  days. 

At  Marietta,  I  ir<»l  a  hoard  of  a  (la)  hoat  on  th<- Ohio 
Kivrr,  and  worked  my  passage  to  Cineinnati,  whi«-h  was 
then  a  i^rowini;  town.  I  thought  upon  itMiriii^  to  a  free 
State  like  4)hio,  that  I  would  lind  every  dour  thrown. 
open  to  roeeivo  me,  hut  from  tire  treatment  I  tvrrivrd 
hv  the  people  generally,  I  found  it  little  hetter  than  in 

•<  »  r^  « 

Virginia. 

I  hail  not  hren  h»n^  in  Cincinnati,  hcfoiv  I  hccani*' 
ac<|uainted  with  many  ot  the  colored  people  there'  ro^nl- 
ini;.  and  it  \va-*  there  I  first  he^an  to  interest  mv-elf  in 
the  condition  of  my  race.  My  at  lent  ion  had  heeii  called 
to  a  statute  of  Ohio,  in  which  I  read  suhstanlially  these 
words:  "That  no  ne^ro  or  mulatto  should  he  permitted 
•*  to  emitjrati'  to  this  State,  or  settle,  or  acquire  a  domi- 
"oilo,  without  first  onterinj^into  hondsot'^'HMl,  with  ap- 
**  proved  security,  conditioned  that  he  would  never  he- 
44  come  a  town  charge,  and  that  he  would  keep  the 
**  -poaoo.**  I  read  on  a  little  further:  "That  no.  ne^ro 
"or  mulatto  shall  testity  in  a  Court  of  Justice  or  Kei-ord, 
44  where  a  party  in  a  cause  there  pending  was  white.  No 


12 

u  negro  or  mulatto  child  shall  enter  into  any  of  the  pnh- 
"  lie  schools  of  this  State,  or  receive  the  benefit  of  the 
".•M-liool  I'liiiil.  No  neirro  or  mulatto  shall  )H»  permitted 

c* 

••to  enter  any  of  the  institutions  of  this  Ktate,  vix:  a. 
••  lunatic  asylum,  deaf  ami  duni'i  asylum,  nor  even  the 
•*  poor  house.'' 

Thus  I  found  every  door  closed  against  the  colored 
man  in  a  five  Staff,  excepting  the  jails  and  penitentia 
ries,  tin-  doors  of  which  were  thrown  wide  open  to  re 
ceive  him.  i  was  for  sonic  time  uncertain  whether  to 
remain  in  Ohio,  or  to  ivhmi  to  Virginia,  hut  at  length 
concluded  h»  remain  in  Ohio  tor  a  time,  not  knowing 
what  to  do.  I  succeeded  in  calling  together  a  meeting 
of  the.  colorcil  men  of  (Cincinnati,  and,  on  consultation* 
things  diil  not  look  very  encouraging.  I  suggested  to 
the  meeting  the  propriety  of  appointing  a  committee  to 
LV>  to  some  country  with  power  to  make  arrangement* 
for  the  purchase  of  some  place  to  live  free  from  the 
t  ramnicls  of  unsocial  and  unequal  laws. 

\oui-  hut  I  hose  who  have  experienced  the  misery  of 
servitude,  or  the  panics  which  result  form  the  conscious 
ness  of  l»cing  despised  as  a  caste,  from  hcing  shut  out 
i  roni  the  hciictit  of  enjoying  the  pure  atmosphere  of 
heaven  in  '-omnion  with  all  mankind,  and  not  only 
lii-iir.:  personally  despised,  hut  not  even  having  the  pro 
tection  «»f  the  laws  themselves,  i*an  fully  appreciate  the 
pat  riot ic  ardor  which  animated  that  little  assemhiy. 
Tha'  we  should  tind  a  home  that  we  could  coiisi«ler 
wholly  our  own,  where  we  could  all  l>e  on  an  ctjiial 
>ociai  tooting,  warmed  us  up  to  an  unusual  decree  of 
enthusiasm.  A  conimittee  consisting  of  James  Kin*;, 
Henry  ArHu-r  and  Israel  Lewis,  was  appointed  for  that 
purpose.  The  committee  went  to  Canada,  and  entered 
into  negotiations  with  a  Canadian  Land  Company,  for 
acres  of'  land,  located  on  the  Sahel  Kiver,  to 


13 

t*>rni  a  colony.  Tin4  colony  was  soon  afterwards  formed. 
and  took  tho  name  of  Wilherfoive,  a  ft  or  tlio  groat  anti- 
slavery  eliaiiijiioii. 

hurinir  tlio  tinio  that  tin-  committee  \v:is  ahscnt.  1 
Cellini  a  meeting  of  the  colored  moii  of  Cineinnati.  for 
tlio  purpose  of  petitioning  tlio  Legislature  for  the  repeal 
of  those  ohnoxious  hlack  laws.  \Vo  drew  up  a  petition 
h>  whieh  wo  ohtained  niiinorons  signatures,  ami  among 
others,  tlioso  of  Nicholas  Loni^  worth,  \Vykof  I'  l*i:itl  ainl 
John  Klini^nian.  This  petition,  after  it  ha«l  Keen  put 
in  circulation,  raised  a  threat  deal  of  comment.  \Ve  saw 
pnhlished  in  ono  of  the  daily  papers  of  ('ineinnati.  the 
following  notico  fn»ni  inemhers  of  one  of  the  col<»rod 
cliiirulics: 

**\Vo,  tho  iindorsignod,  nionihors  of  the  Methodist 
**  Kpiseopal  i'hnreh,  'JOO  in  niuuher,  do  certify  that  we 
44  form  no  part  of  that  indefinite  numher  that  an*  asking 
;*  a  change  in  tho  laws  of  Ohio;  all  we  ask.  is  a  cnntinn- 
"atioii  of  tlio  smih^s  of  tho  white  people  as  wo  have 
44  hitherto  enjoyed  them."  Signed, 

A  in:  A  II  AM   DAN<iKKKIHJ.J>. 
JACK  HAKIilS, 
THOMAS  AUNOLD. 


.IOSHPII  KITK. 

There  were  at  this  time  two  «  olorod  Methodist 
1'lmrehes  in  (-'ineinnati  —  the  African  M.  K.  Church. 
and  tho  M.  K.  Chnrch,  —  tho  latter  hein«r  the  puhlishers 
of  the  alxive  article.  The  former  church  was  in  favor 
of  the  repeal  of  those  ohnoximis  laws,  and  wo  continued 
the  circulation  of  our  petition  until  we  ir«»t  it  numer 
ously  signed  and  nont  it  to  the  legislature.  What  he- 
eame  of  our  petition,  or  what  action  the  legislature 
took  in  the  matter,  we  never  found  out,  but  from  the 


14 

position   taken  l»\    some,  of  our  colored   brethren,  it   is 

likely  that  the  legislature  thought  he>t  not    to  interfere 
in  i  lit-  matter. 

hiii-ing  my  residence  in  Cincinnati,  I  was  frequently 
in  iln-h.il.it  of  visiting  the  hoats  ami  steamers  on  the 
Ohio  liiver, 'ii*  1  was  loud  of  looking  at  them,  especially 
flu-  machinery.  On  one  of  these  occasions  1  visited  two 
II-..M-.  and  'hen  a  third  hoat  which  was  called  the  -Cri 
terion."  '!!>••  l»oats  lay  close  to  each  '»I!HT,  anti  on 
h«»ar«l  of  tlu*  "  (•ntrrion "  there  were  thirty  slaves 
hoiiinl  lor  tlu>  southern  market.  I  was  standing  on  the 
l»»-i  iiuHiiMii  J»-»-k  ol'  the  "(.Criterion"  when  a  woman  ot* 
iiii.-r.^i  in-  a|i|M-;ri-:iii.-«-  passed  near  nu%  <-oinin«^  front 
MI.-  IHII-I  i.  an.v  dei'L.  I  spoke  to  her  and  toiiml  hrr 
namr  to  lie  Susan  Hall,  and  that  she  was  from  the  same 
county  \\liriv  I  was  horn.  1  had  never  seen  her  hefoiv, 
l»ni  mv  mother  had  often  sren  her,  ami  spoken  of  her 
lo  in.-  MM-  told  in.-  that  she  had  two  children  aboard, 
a  hoy  and  a  i^irl.  I  asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  ho 
live.  Shf  said  she  would  like  it  very  milch.  1  had  to 
leave  oil*  talking  with  her  then,  as  the  wateh  was  very 
stiiet,  and  (old  her  1  had  to  LT«»  ove^r  into  Kentneky,  hnt 
would  return  that  same  nii^hi.  So  great  was  my  ahhor- 
ivnee  of  -l.i\er\.  that  I  was  willing  to  run  any  risk  to 
accomplish  the  lihei'atimi  of  a  -la\e.  I  erossi*d  over 
into  K.-ht  u.  k\ ,  and  returned  del  \\.-eii  sundown  and 
dark,  ami  went  ahoard  of  the  U»at.  There  I  remained 
until  altout  one  oYloek,  whni  the  wonian  macle  her 
ajip.-aranee  with  one  of  her  ehihlleli.  She  todl  me  that 
things  weiv  S4»  situated  that  she  could  not  get  her  girl 
without  discovery,  and  we  wen*  ohligcd  fo  leave  with 
out  the  girl.  Theiv  Were  tw«>  gangways  on  the  l»oat ; 
«Mi«  forward  and  one.  alt.  The  gang-plank  at  the  stern 
was  drawn  in.  and  there  was  no  means  of  exit  from 
the  hoat  except  hy  the  forward  gang  plank.  It  was 
sbihle,  however,  for  us  to  ebcupe  at  that  place,  as 


K. 

two  men  were  posted  there  with  ^iin's  as  watcK  On 
looking  around,  however,  1  found  there  was  a  small 
ln»at  belonging  to  the  "Criterion,"  in  tin-  water  at  the 
stern.  1  concluded  to  make  use  of  tliis  boat  tor  tlie 
purpose  of  efleeting  the  escape.  I  assists!  tlie  woman 
an«l  her  !M»V  into  the  little  boat  ami  nntieil  it  t'roin  the. 
4i  Criterion."  There  was  am »ther  -large  steamer  astern 
of  the  ** Criterion/"  ami  1  -li<»l  the  little  hoat  «|iiickly 
ont  under  the  ho\v  of  this  other  steamer,  ami  made  it 
appear  as  though  I  was  leaving  that  steamer  instead  o| 
the  "  Criterion."  The  guards  were  deluded  l»y  this 
ruse,  and  paid  no  attention  to  us,  thinking  we  eame 
t'roni  the  other  ln»at.  The  risk,  however,  was  very 
«rreat.  \Ve  eoiilil  see  the  barrels  of  their  «rnns  irlisN-n 
in  the  nioonliirht.  I  etfeeted  a  landinir  and  I. n •unlit 
them  to  a  place  of  safety.  Then  I  rrtnrned  ami  siie- 
eeeded  in  grttini;  ahoard  of  the  ^Criterion"  airain.  and 
in  the  same  manner  I  sm-eeeded  in  eUeetinir  the  eseape 
of  two  yoiiiis;  men  and  a  yonnir  woman. 

I  found  shelter  in  a  safe  plan-  in  Cincinnati  for  the 
woman  and  child  ;  the  others  I  sent  with  a  irnulr.  to 
itichmond,  Indiana.  The  woman  was  pregnant,  and 
remained  in  Cincinnati  till  she  was  in  a  condition 
to  travel,  during  which  time  I  pai«l  tor  her  hoard  and 
sustenance.  I  then  sent  her  to  Canada,  where  she  mar 
ried  a  man  named  McKinncy,  and  raised  a  family. 
One  of  her  sons  has  often  heen  seen  on  the  streets  ol 
Cleveland.  His  name  is  Courtney  McKinncy,  and  lie  is 
a  chimney-sweep.  He  wears  on  his  cap  a  plate  with 
In-  name,  and  occupation  engraved  thereon. 

At  the  time  when  I  effected  the  escape  of  the  slaves, 
they  were  not  missed  until  the  next. morninir.  and  \\heti 
they  were  found  to  IK»  missing  the  city  was  thrown  into 
great  commotion,  and  constables  wen-  sent  in  all  direc 
tions  to  search  for  the  missing  slaves;  hut  they  did  not 
succeed  in  finding  them,  nor  wan  1  ever  BUHpcctetl. 


C11AITKK  III. 

On  the  Ktli  day  of  March,  18^1*,  1  married  my  present 
will-  in  Cincinnati,  and  the  next  August  I  moved  to 
Louisville,  K y.,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  at 
I  hut  place  working  at  my  trade.  From  there  i  moved 
•ii-M  ,u  alter  to  Middlctown,  nine  miles  from  Louisville, 
and  worked  the  next  year  then*  at  my  trade  tor  one 
( Miamhris,  (he  master  ol'  my  wife's  father,  who  was  a 
sl;i\e.  In  I  he  iall  of  the  same  year  1  WJIH  arrested  as  a 
fugitive  slave  and  put  in  jail.  The  jailor  procured  suf- 
licieiit  aid  to  hattdcuik'  me,  and  tried  to  <rct  a  confession 
from  me,  having  taken  oil'  my  clothes,  while  he  stood 
hy  with  a  cowhide  in  his  hand  in  order  to  frighten  ami 
intimidate  me,  hut  lie.  .lid  not  succeed  in  ^yUm-  a 
confession  from  me.  and  he  did  not  whip  me  either.  1 
manured  to  procure  hail  for  my  appearance  in  Court  at 
the  Mar«  h  term,  in  the  sum  of  s:}oo,  |>nt  on  failure  to 
prove  that  1  was  a  slave,  1  was  released  from  custody  hy 
the  Court.  The  next  April  I  left  Louisville  for  the  pur 
pose  of  seeking  a  home  for  myself  and  wile  in  Canada, 
leaving  my  wife  in  Louisville.  When  1  arrived  in  Can 
ada  1  contracted  for  a  small  farm,  and  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  (|s:i| )  I  returned  to  Louisville  for  my  wile. 
In  returning  from  Canada  i  procured  passage  a  hoard  of 
a  schooner  at  Inillalo,  and  proceeded  up  the  lake,  and  a 
storm  coming  on  we  were  forced  to  make  harhor  at  Krie, 
and  I  concluded  not  to  tr0  hy  way  of  Cleveland,  as  i 
had  .first  int*'inle«l,  for  1  thought  the  vessel  was  unsafe, 
hut  conclndetl  to  «^o  hy  way  of  I'ittshnr^h.  I  started 
from  Krie,  and  proceeded  on  toot  fourteen  miles  to  a 
little  town  called  Waterford,  in  Pennsylvania.  At 


17 

Waterford  I  purchased  some  scantling,  and  huilt  mo  a 
small  hoat  Ixl*.  I  lannohod  the  hoat  into  a  siivani  at 
Watorford  cnlldl  Ijclievf  Oivok.  I  wont  down  the  creek 
in  my  little  l»oat,  and  ont  of  that  ereok  into  another 
creek,  and  pursued  my  way  down  that  second  stream 
until  I  eame  to  Fivnrli  ('reek, and  there  wen'  a  nimihcr  • 
of  mills  on  French  ('reek,  and  dams  wore  (mill  across 
from  olio  side  to  the  other,  und  at  some  of  those  dams 
there  acre  shutes,  so  that  hoats  oonld  pass  through. 
\Vheiv  there  were  no  shntes  I  had  to  draw  my  hoat  ont 
of  the  water,  and  drag  it  to  places  holow  the  dam. 
There  were  great  hills  on  hoth  sides  of  Kivneh  Creek, 
and  the  growth  of  the  timher.  whieh  was  prinoipally 
hemlock,  was  very  tliiek,  and  in  the  daytime  it  was  so 
«lark  I  eonld  s«-areely  see  my  way  thronirh. 

While  proeeeding  down  Kreiieh  (/n>ek  1  was  «jnite 
amused  to  see  the  Indians  gatherilii;  the  ernde  petro- 
h'lim  whieh  was  Moating  on  t«>p  of  the  water.  They 
gathered  the  oil  hy  spread  ing  hlunkets  oxer  the  snrfaee 
of  the  water,  and  allowing  them  to  soak  up  the  oil.  and 
then  they  would  take  the  hiankets,  and  wring  the  oil  ont 
into  vessels  whieh  they  pronired  for  that  purpose. 
What  they  did  with  the  oil  1  do  not  know. 

I'roeeeding  on,  1  arrived  at  the  month  of  Kivneh 
Creek  to  a  small  town,  (tin-  name  of  whieh  I  have  for 
gotten,)  ami  from  thenee  into  the  Allegheny  1%'iver  and 
down  to  Pittsburgh.  1  disposed  of  my  hoat  at  I'm- 
hnrgh,  and  with  the  proeeeds  I  paid  my  passage  to  Cin 
cinnati.  My  wife  met  mo  in  Cineinnati.  and  then  we 
started  up  the  Ohio  River  as  tar  as  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
with  what  little  household  goods  we  had.  My  ohjoet 
was  to  reaeh  Chillieotho,  to  whieh  point  the  Ohio  Canal 
had  IHH.MI  completed,  and  then  travel  hy  way  of  the 
canal.  1  hired  a  team  to  take  us  and  our  goods  to  Chilli- 


18 

cot  he,  ami  Iroia  there  we  traveled  on  the  canal  to  New 
ark,  in  Linking  county.  l»v  this  time  cold  weather  hail 
set  in,  and  we  were  compelled  to  spend  the  winter  in 
Newark. 

In  the  following  April,  the  eanal  hcing  again  open, 
we  proceeded  on  our  journey,  and  arrived  in  Cleveland 
the  same  month.  There  was  very  little  eoiiintu mention 
hctwceit  the  United  Slates  and  Canada  in  those  days, 
so  we  waited  in  Cleveland  tor  a  good  opportunity  to 
eross  over  into  Canada,  and  finding  no  opportunity  in 
Clevelaiul  we  went  to  Buffalo,  where  we  stayed  a 
tew  days.  Here  my  wife  heeame  greatly  tronhled  in 
consequence  of  having  left  her  father,  and  it  lay  so 
heavily  upon  her  that  she  gave  me  no  rest.  Seeing  her 
unwillingness  to  go  to  Canada,  and  her  tears  that  she 
would  never  see  her  tat  her  again,  1  eoneluded  to  give 
up  the  farm,  ami  my  wife  having  taken  a  fancy  to 
Cleveland,  we  determined  to  go  haek  and  settle  there. 
We  accordingly  eame  to  Cleveland,  and  I  sought  em 
ployment  at  my  trade.  Hut  my  eolor  was  an  obstacle 
and  1  eould  not  gel  work  of  that  kind.  I  managed, 
however, to  olitain  employment  as  eook  on  the  sehooiter 
Aurora,  that  -ailed  on  the  lakes  hetween  Mackinaw  and 
liiilla.lo,  and  1  kept  that  position  for  three  months. 
Leonard  Case,  Si1.,  and  I*.  l».  Andrews,  of  Cleveland, 
had  liiiih  a  steam  mill  at  the  same  spot  where  the  C.  &, 
r.  1C.  1C.  shops  now  stand,  and  Mr.  J.  li.  Hudson,  who 
was  part  owner  of  the  vessel  .on  which  I  was  employed, 
purchased  that  mill  from  Case  and  Andrews.  The  mill 
ua-  operated  during  the  day,  and  he  wanted  to  run  it 
also  during  the  night.  Mr.  Hudson  applied  to  me  to  act 
;t>  engineer  during  part  ot  the  time.  A  man  hy  the  name 
of  Kra>tus  Smith  and  his  son  \Va>hington  were  running 
Vuniiiiiir  tin-  engine  at  the  time.  1  was  perfectly  ignorant 
of  running  an  engine,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  luachiu- 


19 

cry,  nor  of  steam  power,  ami  Mr.  Hudson  requested  Mr. 
Krastus  Smith  to  instruct  me  how  to  run  the  engine.  On 
thedav  appointed  at  1-  o'clock  I  took  charge  of  the  engine. 
Mr.  Smith  and  his  son  that,  same  day  took  th/ir  gmis  and 
went  out  in  the  woods  to  hunt.  They  were  gone  nearly 
two  hours,  and  when  they  returned  1  heard  Washington 
ask  his  father  some  question  whieh  I  did  not  compre 
hend,  hut  the  answer  I  understood  very  well.  The 
engine  was  running  at  a  very  rapid  rate,  and  the  hi  no 
streaks  of  steam  were  passing  through  the  joints  of  the 
hoiler.  Mr.  Smith  answered,  %i  I  don't  care  it'  he  'blows 
her  to  h — ."  I  immediately  sprang  to  the  safety  valve, 
opened  it, and  let  the  steam  hlow  oil',  tor  from  his  answer 
I  knew  there  was  something  wrong;  then  I  left  imnie 
diately  and  eame  to  town,  and  1  reported  what  had 
occurred  to  I*.  15.  Andrews,  the  gentleman  who  had 
huilt  the  online.  He  sent  an  engineer  down  to  the  mill 
to  nee  into  the  matter,  and,  on  examination,  he  found 
•*  that  there  was  only  four  inches  of  water  in  the  hollers, 
and  that  the  supply  cock  was  shut  oil',  so  that  no  \\atcr 
could  got  into  the  I  toilers  at  all.  1  did  not  know  how 
the  boilers  were  supplied  with  water.  Mr.  Smith  or  his 
8on  must  have  shut  itotf  hcforc  they  wont  to  I  In-  \\oods. 
The  engineer  instructed  me  how  to  supply  the  hoiltTs. 
and  wo  got  things  all  right  and  started  again.  Alter 
this  the  mill  was  only  run  during  the  day,  and  at  night 
1  would  take  a  portion  of  the  engine  apart,  lay  each 
piece  separate  from  the  other,  so  that  I  would  make  no 
mistake,  and,  in  like  man  nor,' repeat  my  work  at  differ 
ent  times  until  1  had  taken  the  whole  engine  apart  and 
put  it  together  again,  and  I  become  complete  master  of 
the  machinery. 

I  ran  that  engine  twelve  or  thirteen  months,  and  then 
I  communicated  to  Mr.  Hudson  a  project  1  had  formed 
of  buying  my  father-in-law's  freedom.  I  opened  ror- 


20 

ru*pondenco  with  his  masto,  aiul  he  replicil  that  he 
would  take  £100.00  lor  the  old  man,  who  was  then  sixty 
years  of  age,  and  that  he  would  take  £100.00  down,  and 
the  balance  on  time.  1  got  a  subscription  paper  and 
eirettlated  it,  and  -upon  that  nulMCriptioo  paper  the  pub 
lie  kindly  «lonated  £100.00.  I  then  made  two  note*, 
payable  in  one  and  two  years,  for  $150.00  each,  and  pro- 
ruivd  the  endorsement  thereon  of  John  M.  Sterling,  Sr., 
|)cur<m  l>cnjamin  Uouso,  Judith  Uichmond,  and  Thom 
as  \Vhel[iley.  1  sent  my  wife  to  Kentucky  with  the 
money  and  notes,  aiul  on  paying  the  £100.00  and  deliv 
ering  the  notes*  her  father  was  released,  and  came  with 
her  to  Cleveland. 

lion.  Samuel  Williamson  was  the  attorney  for  my 
father-in-law's  master,  and  the  notes,  as  they  hecame 
due,  were  sent  to  Mr.  Williamson  for  collection.  Not 
being  aide  to  pay  the  tirst  note,  I  was  sued  in  the  County 
Court.  I  expostulated  with  Mr.  Williamson,  ami  tried 
to  he  released  from  the  obligation,  to  some  extent  at 
least.  He  replied  to  me,  that  though  he  was  opposed 
to  slavery,  yet  when  a  person  agreed  to  pay  money,  it 
was  morally  wrong  to  refuse  to  do  it.  Judgment  was 
rendered  against  me  on  the  note,  and  1  continued  to 
work  until  I  paid  the  notes. 

My  wile's  lather,  whose  name  was  Caleb  Horsey,  lived 
in  Cleveland  fifteen  years  after  his  freedom  was  obtain 
ed,  when,  becoming  anxious  to  visit  his  children  in 
Louisville,  he  so  informed  my  wife.  We  both  protested 
.r.'.tiii  •!  his  going,  as  we  thought  the  old  man  would  not 
l»e  aide  to  elianee  the  journey.  Notwithstanding  our 
entreaties,  he  persisted  in  going.  He  left  Cleveland  on. 
a  Friday,  arriving  in  Louisville  on  Saturday  night. 
The  next  day  being  Sabbath,  he  went  to  Church.  On 
that  same  night  he  took  the  cholera,  and  died,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-live  years. 


21 

During  the  first  years  of  my  residence  in  Cleveland, 
ami  while  I  was  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Hudson,  there 
was  a  little,  hriek  huildinir  on  Academy  Lain*,  owned  l»y 
ono  Mr.  I»rewstor.  ami  which  h«v  ullowcd,  liio  «Min4i;ro%u:a.- 
tion  of  tin*  First  |»ap(ist  ('limvli,  llu>n  orifani/.ril,  to  nsi- 
as  a  plar<i  ot'hnvtiiiif  ami  worship.  I  lia<l,  whiU'in  <1in- 
cinnaii,  olitaiiic<l  a  lioenso  to  preach •  the '•  <t<v*pcl,  trom 
the  Knon  I»aptist  Chnroh,  ami  when  I  rjiini-  to('h«ve- 
lan«U  I  iM-i-asionally  pivai-he«l  tor  the  First  ISaptisi 
(Minroh  in  the  htiihlinir  on  Aeadeiny  Lane.  I  often  ni- 
ceived  invitations  to  preaeh  in  the  eonntry,  sometimes 
at  Uoekport,  soinetinies  at  Kncliil,  ami  other  t»»wtis. 
My  wife  and  myself  have  remained  ineiiihers  of  th«- 
I5aptist  Church  ever  since  wo  wore  in  Cleveland,  and 
arc  still  nicml>cra  thereof. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Tin?  extivuiity  to  which  I  had  been  driven,  to  pay 
the  notes  which  1  had  jji  ven  tor  the  freedom  of  injrwife'n 

father,  .obliged  me  to  resort  to  some  means  of  earning 
tin-  money  to  pay  them.  My  earning*  while  in  Mr.  Hud 
son's  <  nij.lov,  were  barely  suHicient  to  support  my 
family.  Through  tin*  kindneiM  of  Mr.  James  S.  (Mark, 
I  was  cmihlcd  to  [HI  reliant*,  oil  easy  terms,  a  vessel  owned 
by  Abraham  Wright  of  Uockport.  When  1  went  to 
i.ik--  out  a  license,  the  deputy  Collet-tor  refused  to  irraii! 
it,  deciding  that  my  color  was  an  obstacle.  But  when 
the  Collector  himself  arrived,  who  wa-  t!i«-  lion.  Samuel 
Starkweather,  well  known  to  ail  the  citizens  of  Cleve 
land,  he  decided  that  I  had  as  much  riirht  to  own  and 
.til  a  vessel  upon  the  lakes  as  I  had  to  own  a  horse  and 
hungry  ;md  drive  through  the  streets,  and  he  granted 
me  a  license.  My  vessel  was  called  "The  (irampus." 
After  1  obtained  my  license,  Mr.  l>iodatc  Clark  em 
ployed  mi'  to  carry  limestone  and  cedar  posts  from 
Kellcy's  and  surrounding  islands.  I  earned  money 
enough  to  pay  up  the  notes.  I  then  disposed  of  the 
\e»cl. 

My  next  employment  wan  on  the  Kirst  haptist  Church, 
then  on  the  corner  of  Champlain  and  Seneca  streets, 
the  place  now  occupied  by  the  1T.  S.  Or^aii  Company. 
When  the  church  was  built  and  ready  for  dedication, 
the  i|  Mention  was  nil. MM  I  aiuoiii;  the  members  as  to  when* 
the  colored  people  should  sit.  There  was  a  diversity  of 
opinion  on  the  subject.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  pro 
posed  to  finish  otl  the  pews  in  the  gallery  in  the  same 
style  as  in  the  auditorium,  and  that  I  should  have  the 
fini  -liinir  of  it  under  my  control  and  management ;  but 

(22) 


23 

finding  that  too  expensive*,  they  aluiiicloiic'd  the  method, 
and  it  was  next  proposed  to  the -eolored  members  that 
heforo  tin;  sale  of  the  pews  took  phiee,  that  I,  and  one 
Stephen  <irillin  nii^hl  niakt1  a  solrrtion  of  hall' a  do/.ni 
prws  aiiy\vhrn»  in  the  rhun-h  that  ini^lit  l»v  suital»l«\ 
wht'thor  on  tin*  hrojid  or  side  aislr,  or  in  front  of  tin- 
pulpit.  To  that  I  ohjofh'd,  stating  that  if  I  had  to  lie 
ro|oni/.fd,  I  pivfrnvd  to  h«?  coloiiixcd  at  1/ihrria,  rather 
than  in  the  House  of  I  tod;  that  Christ  or- the  Apostles 
never  made  anv  distinetion  on  neeount  of  rare  or  eolor. 
It  was,  however, .  iloi-hled  that  the  eol»»red  people  should 
sit  in  the  jfii  I  lory.  On  every  proper  oeeasion  thensilter 
at  ehureli  meetings  I  would  hrini;  np  the  i|iiestir»n  of  the 
distinction  of  eolor  in  the  house  of  worship,  and  the 
ineiiihers  heeanie  nearly  divided  on 'tin1  question,  and 
after  strnirirlin^  for  eii^liteen  months,  it  was  finally  eon- 
«-liided  that  theeidored  peoph4  should  have  the  privilege 
of  obtaining  pews  in  any  part  of  the  hnildinir,  as  other 
pei>i>H8,  and  my  ohjcot  wns  thus  ueeoinplished. 


CHAPTER  V. 

During  tlte  year  IS;W  I  was  employed  as  a  liand  on 

tin-  steamboat  "Rochester,"  plying  between  Buffalo  and 
Chicago.  Tbc  foifjMvitig  year  1  left  this  position,  and 
purchased  .a  canal  boat  from  8.  K.  Ilutchinson  &  Co. 
This  firm  owned  the  stone  mill  on  the  canal  in  Cleve 
land.  My  boat,  which  w;us  trailed  the  "  Auburn,"  was 
engaged  in  convoying  wheat  and  merchandise  on  the 
Ohio  Canal.  The  boat  was  a  good  passenger  packet, 
with  good  cabins,  and  her  former  owners  concluded  to 
liny  the  hoat  hack,  which  they  did.  They  then  employ 
ed  me  as  captain,  to  manage  her.  (hi  one  occasion, 
while  I  was  running  the  hoat,  after  having  loaded  with 
merchandise,  I  was  ordered  to  deliver  the  goods  at  Chil- 
licothc.  Leaving  Cleveland  about  noon,  we  arrived  at 
Nilcs  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  At  this  place 
we  were  hailed  by  some  person  saying  that  a  passenger 
wanted  to  get  aboard  to  go  south.  We  came  alongside 
the  dock  and  landed.  I'rctty  soon  after  some  baggage 
came  on  board,  ami  in  a  short  time  the  owner  of  the 
baggage,  who  was  a  female,  appeared. 

My  crew  consisted  of  one  white  steersman,  one  col 
ored  steersman,  two  white  drivers, one  colored  bowman, 
and  one  colored  female  cook.  \Vhcn  the  lady  arrived  I 
stood  aboard  of  the  stern  deck  ami  assisted  her  aboard. 
When  -In-  went  down  into  the  cabin  and  sa\v  the  col 
ored  cook,  she  was  taken  completely  by  surprise.  The 
colored  steersman  ju-t  then  happened  to  go  down  into 
the  cabin  after  something.  The  lady  was  sitting  on  the 
locker,  and  when  she  saw  the  colored  steersman  she 
went  immediately  to  tin-  other  *idc  of  tin*  boat.  Alter 
the  bowman  had  got  his  lines  snugly  curled,  he  went 


25 

down  into  the  cabin,  and  she  accosted  him,  saving  that 
she  would  like  to  sec  the.  captain.  Accordingly,  I  was 
called,  and  went  .down  to  see  what  she  wanted.  The 
light  shone  in  my  face  so  that  she  could  easily  see  my 
features.  The  lady,  after  seeing  me,  suddenly  sprang 
to  her  feet,  and  with  great  shortness  of  hreath  exclaim 
ed,  "Well,  I  never!  well,  I  never!  well,  I  never."  I 
made  a  how  and  left  her,  and  ordered  the  cook  to  set 
her  stat^-room  doors  open,  and  to  take  oil"  all  the  bed 
ding  from  the  middle  berth,  and  supply  clean  bedding 
from  the  locker,  so  that  she  might  see  that  the  bedding 
was  changed,  and  I  requested  the  cook  to  tell  the  sur 
prised  lady  to  take  thy  middle  berth.  She  refused  to 
go  to  bed,  and  sat  up  all  night. 

We  arrived  at  Loek  21,  north  end  of  the  Akron 
locks  Jit  midnight.  At  nearly  every  lock  there  was  a 
house  or  grocery,  and  F  instructed  the  crew  to  keep  the 
blinds  on  the  boat  closed,  so  that  the  lady  should  not 
know  she  was  in  a  village;  for,  seeing  that  she  was 
afraid  of  colored  people,  I  wanted  to  give  her  full  op 
portunity  of  getting  acquainted  wiih  them  before  she 
arrived  at  her  home  in  ( -ircleville.  We  arrived  at  hock 
1  a  little  after  daylight  ;  that  brought  us  on  the  Wolf 
Creek  level.  On  going  into  the  Wolf  ('reck  lock,  see 
ing  that  the  lock  was  ready,  we  ran  the  boat  right  into 
the  lock,  and  the  hands  divided,  a  part  on  one  side  of 
the  boat,  and  a  part  on  the  other  side.  I  gave  the  dri 
ver  the  signal,  and  he  opened  the  wicket,  lowered  the 
boat  down,  and  the  lady  was  prevented  from  getting 
otl*  there,  if  she  had  felt  disposed  to  do  so.  When  we 
came  to  the  Fulton  lock  we  pursued  the  same  course 
as  at  the  former  lock.  Hefore  we  had  got  to  this  point, 
and  while  we  were  yet  on  the  Wolf  (Veek  level,  I  invil- 
ed  the  lady  to  breakfast,  which  she  refused,  saying  that 
she  did  uot  feel  very  well.  When  we  arrived  at  the 


26 

Full' MI  Lock,  it  brought  us  to  the  Massillon  level,  and 
it  being dinner  time,  I  invited  the  lady  to  dinner.  She 
still  complained  of  not  fooling  very  well,  hut  took  a 
pi  e«-r  of  pir  ('nun  where  she  stood.  Then  we  arrived  at 
tin-  lifthichoin  level,  ami  when  tea  was  ready,  I  invited 
her  to  lea,  and  she  took  a  eii|»  of  tea  and  a  hiseiiit. 

Just  ahoiit  this  time  we  p;tssod  through  a  strip  of 
woods  .id*  iiit  a  mile  in  length.  The  moon  was  full,  and 
it  was  a  Lean  I  il'u  I  evening.  The  cook,  having  got 
through  with  her  cahin  work,  eame  on  deck.  While 
she  was  proceeding  towards  the  deek,  the  lady  |»a-*sen- 
gor  followed  her  in  a  hesitating  manner.  They  proiu- 
••'i,i-|.  «  |  the  deek  together  for  a  while,  and  then  retired. 
I  suppose  I  he  lady  took  a  good  night's  sleep,  for  1  did 
not  hear  anything  trout  her  until  the  next  morning.. 
Wli«~n  hreakfast  was  ready,  on  reeeiving  an  invitation, 
r>ho  readily  took  a  seat  at  the  tahle,  and  ate  a  hearty 
meal,  and  from  that  time  on  she  felt  reeoneilod  to  her 
Hltrrolliiding*,  and  nm versed  freely  with  the  cook  and 
allon  hoard.  When  we  arrived  at  (Srcleville  she  left 
us.  I  provided  means  for  the  conveyance  of  her  hag- 
gMi^e,  and  on  IMT  leaving  she  thanked  me,  and  said, 
"<  'aplain,  when  I  first  eame  a  hoard  your  hoat,  not  heing 
••  aeciistomed  to  travel  in  this  way,  1  supp«»se  1  must 
••  have  acted  «|uito  awkward.  Now,  I  must  return  my 
"thank*  to  you  and  your  crew,  for  the  kind  treatment  I 
"  have  received.  1  never  traveled  KO  comt'ortahly  in  all 
"my  life,  and  1  expect  to  go  north  soon,  and  I  will  defer 
••my  journey  until  you  are  going  north,  even  if  1  am 
"ohligcd  to  wait  two  or  three  days."  i  never  saw  the 
lady  again  after  that. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Prior  to  the  time  that  I  was  engaged  as  captain  on 
the  canal  hoat  as  narrate*!,  and  during  the  time  1  was 
acting  in  the  capacity  of  engineer  tor  Mr.  Hudson,  I 
had  taken  considerable  interest  in  the  question  of  the 
education  of  the  colored  children.  About  the  year  !*•'»- 
I  called  a  meeting  of  the  colored  men  of  Cleveland,  and 
among  others  John  l»rown,  Alexander  Bowman,  and 
Oavid  Smith.  Mr.  John  IF.  Hudson  gave  us  the  use  of 
a  room  on  the  mill  premises  to  keep  school  in  for  col- 
ored  children, and  at  that  meeting  we  hired  a  half  breed 
to  leach  the  children,  paying  him  £JO  a  month,  and  he 
taught  for  ns  three  months;  when  he  left  we  hired  a 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  Clarissa  Wright  as  teacher. 
Her  parents  lived  in  Talmadgo,  Ohio,  and  she  taught 
about  two  months  and  a-half,  when,  in  consc«|iicuee  of 
her  mother's  sickness,  she  had  to  leave.  Then  we 
employed  a  man  by  the  name  of  M.  M.  ('lark,  from  the 
Kast.  I  don't  think  he  taught  over  three  months.  While 
he  was  teaching  1  called  a  meeting  of  colored  men  and 
suggested  to  them  the  propriety  of  calling  a  State  con 
vention  of  colored  men,  which  was  done,  and,  as  far  a* 
I  know,  it  was  the  first  colored  convention  ever  known 
in  the  United  States;  at  least  I  never  had  heard  of  one 
before.  After  having  agreed  upon  calling  the  conven 
tion  we  proposed  for  that  purpose  to  employ  Mr.  Clark, 
our  then  school  teacher,  to  canvass  the  State,  and  lec 
ture  to  the  colored  people  on  the  propriety  of  calling  a 
State  convention.  He  done  so,  and  the  State  conven 
tion  in  1H:V>  was  called  in  the  City  of  Columbus  as  a 
consequence  of  our  effort,  and  that  convention  organ 
ized  itself  into  what  WUB  then  called  *4thc  School  Fund 

(27) 


28 

Society."  The  business  and  object  of  that  was  to  estab 
lish  .-M  hooU  in  different  parts  of  the  State  for  colored 
•  •hildren.  We  established  one  in  Cincinnati,  one  in 
Columbus,  one  in  K|»riiigtiel<l, autl  another  in  Cleveland, 
and  that  con  volition  decided  to  employ  M.  M.  (Mark  as 
an  ai^cnt  to  raise  funds  for  the  snpp<irt  of  the  schools. 
The.  llrst  donation  was  by  .lames  S.  Clark,  Ks<|.,  and  in 
caiivas>m:;  the  State  the  good  citizens  of  the  State 
responded  to  the  rail.  We  kept  these  schools  going  for 
about  t\V4i  years,  and  several  of  the  adult  colored  people 
of  Cleveland,  not  having  had  the  benefits  of  education 
before  extended  to  them,  went  to  the  schools  estab 
lished  in  Cleveland. .  and  learned  to  read  and  write 
pretty  well.  A  gentleman,  whose  name  I  do  not  now 
remember,  but  who  lived  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
State,  donated  for  the  support  of  these  schools  a  tract 
of  twenty-live  acres. 

I  was  not  satisfied,  however, as  long  as  the  black  laws 
remained  on  the  statute  books,  which  prohibited  col 
ored  children  from  going  to  the  public  schools,  and 
being  anxious  for  their  repeal,  in  common  with  many 
of  the  colored  people  of  the  State  1  called  another  meet 
ing  of  the  colored  people  of  Cleveland,  ami  suggested 
the  propriety  of  circulating  a  petition  to  be  sent  to  the 
Legislature  for  the  repeal  of  those  odious  laws,  and  I 
also  proposed  that  we  employ  some  lecturers  to  lecture 
through  the  State  and  raise  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  the 
repeal  of  those  laws.  We  accordingly  employed  John 
L.  Watson,  of  Cleveland,  William  11.  Day,  of  Oberlin, 
and  U.  It.  Chancellor,  of  Chill icot  he,  for  that  purpose, 
ami  shortly  after  they  were  employed  they  obtained 
permission  to  lecture  in  the  State  House  al  Columbus, 
and  we  found  ^ood  results  ensued  from  the  lectures. 
I  don't  exactly  remember  the  year,  but  I  think  it  was 
in  1S-H.  The  Legislature  was  then  Democratic,  and 


29 

Hon.  Franklin  T.  Hackus  was  elected  to  tin*  Legisla 
ture,  and  it  was  through  his  efforts  in  our  behalf,  and 
tin?  effect  those  lectures  had  on  the  people  that  the 
black  laws  were  repealed,  with  tin*  exception  o.f  the 
school  law  prohibiting  colored  children  from  goin^  to 
the  pnhlie  schools. 

About  the  year  1S1:J  a  couple  of  slaves  ran  away  from 
Tennessee,  and  were  recommended  here  to.  our  Henry 
Jackson, a  harher.  who  was  reputed  to  he  an  abolit ionist, 
and  they  staved  here  under  his  protection  from  four  to  six 
weeks.  I  hiring  that  time  he  learned  where  they  were 
from,  and  the  names  of  I  hot  row  tiers.  A  reward  having 
heen  offered  for  their  apprehension,  Jackson  communi 
cated  that  fact  to  11.  V.  Wilson,  who  afterwards  hccamc 
Judge  of  the  I*.  S.  l>istriet  Court  in  Cleveland,  .lack- 
son  could  not  write,  hut  he  engaged  Mr.  Wilson,  to 
open  a  correspondence  with  the  owners  of  the  (women. 
At.  least  1  concluded,  from  the  fact  that  Jackson  could 
not  write,  and  all  the  circumstances,  that  Mr.  Wilson 
did  the  writing. 

After  the  fugitives  had  hcen  in  Cleveland  ahout  six 
weeks  they  left  and  went  to  Iluffalo,  and  shortly  after 
the  airent  of  the  owners  arrived  in  Cleveland.  Learn 
ing  from  Jackson  that  (he  hoys  were  in  I'lUlialo  there 
was  a  consultation  held  hetween  Mr.  Wilson,  Jackson 
and  the  agent,  and  it  was  concluded  to  get  the  men  hack 
to  Cleveland,  or  in  Ohio,  for  the  reason  that  colored  men 
were  allowed  to  testily  in  the  State  of' New  York,  hut 
could  no!  testify  in  Ohio.  The  hiack  laws  had  not  yet 
Keen  repealed.  They  planned  that  Jackson,  tin'  agent, 
and  Mr.  Wilson,  should  go  to  I  In  Halo,  and  that  Jackson 
should  he  their  spokesman.  The  names  of  the  two  hoys 
were  Alexander  Williams  and  John  Houston,  hefore 
they  went  to  Uutlalo,  Williams  applied  to  J.  F.  Hanks, 
who  was  a  portrait  painter,  to  become  an  apprentice,  but 


Hanks  diii  not  employ  him,  ami  Jackson,  as  spokesman 
for  the  trio,  on  their  arrival  in  Butlalo,  represented  to 
Williams  that  Mr.  Hanks  had  agreed  to  employ  htm  aa 
apprentice,  and  had  sent  him  down  to  see  him  (Wil 
liams,)  to  have  him  come  hack  to  Cleveland  and  enter 
into  the  apprenticeship,  and  lie  represented  to  John 
Houston,  who  was  -formerly  a  cook  in  the  South,  that 
there  was  a  new  brig  just  bunched  in  Cleveland,  and 
the  Captain  had  employed  him  to  engage  a  cook,  and  so 
he  had  come  to  Buffalo  to  have  him.  ship  on  board  of 
the  new  brig  as  cook. 

Before  leaving  Cleveland  for  Buffalo  there  had  been  a 
u  arrant  issued  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Madison 
Miller,  who  was  Shcritl',  that  was  to  be  served  on  the 
boys  us  soon  as  they  landed  in  Cleveland.  By  reason  of 
the  representations  thus  made  to  the  boys  they  were 
induced  to  return  to  Cleveland.  They  no  sooner  landed 
than  they  were  arrested  and  placed  in  jail.  A  crowd  of 
c-il-iivd  people,  myself  among  the  number,  gathered 
around  the  jail  late,  in  order  to  see  that  they  were  not 
run  oil*  during  the  night  without  a  chance  of  hearing. 
Charles  Stetson,  KSIJ.,  kindly  volunteered  his  services 
gratis  a*  attorney  for  the  boys,  and  we  employed  to 
a— j-t  him  Thomas  Bolt  on,  Ks<j.,  who  was  a  Democrat. 
We  paid  Mr.  Boltoii  $'2-\  to  take  the  ease.  The  agent, 
Mr.  l/mdciihcrgcr,  employed  11.  B.  Payne,  Ks«j.,  and 
!l"H.  Horace  Toole,  and  so  the  boys,  in  a  day  or  two, 
were  brought  before  Judge  Barber,  (not  the  present 
Judge  Barber.) 

When  the  hoys  were  brought  out  audit  was  ascer 
tained  how  they  were  deceived  and  brought  back  from 
Butlalo,  Kdward  Wade,  Ks<p,  interposed  a  motion  to 
the  court  asking  for  a  continuance  of  the  cause  for 
twelve  days.  It  was  the  law  that  when  a  fugitive  slave 
was  arrested  and  put  in  jail  or  cur-tody,  that  it  he  could 


furnish  hail  of  81,000,  he  w<  MI  hi  he  released  from  prison 
until  tin*  expiration  of  the  time  of adjournment.  So 
Alexander  Bowman,  John  Brown  ami  myself  furnished 
the  re'iuired  hail.  Then '  I  took  the  hoy  Alexamler 
Williams  from  the  jail  ami  went  with  him  to  Buffalo  hy 
the  advice  of  the  lawyers,  to  ascertain  the  particulars  in 
the  case.  1  li:ul  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bolton,  directed  to 
(Scoriae  A.  Barker,  Ks«|.,  the  Prosecuting  Attorney  at 
BuMalo.  I  arrived  in  Buffalo  ahout  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  Mr.  11.  B.  Payne  took  passage  on  the  same 
hoat  and  w:,s  on  his  way  to  New  York.  I  went  to  Mr. 
Barker's  olliec  ami  presented  the  letter.  Mr.  Barker 
informed  me  .that  on  the  same  hoat  I  came  down  on  in 
the  mail  there  was  a  letter  from  II.  B.  Payne,  lie  read 
it  to  me,  and  it  was  in  suhstance,  if  not  the  precise ' 
words,  as  follows: 

•"(•Komi*:  A.  BAKKKK,  KSQ.: 

*4  There  were  two  runaway  negroes  taken  up  in  Cleve- 
land  (namiiiLr  the  day),  much  to  the  satisfaction  <»f  all 
the  citizens  of  Cleveland,  c.xeept  a  few  hlack  alwdition- 
ists  ainl  a  few  white  ise^roes.  I  expect  to  tjo.to  New 
York  in  a  day  or  two,  and  defer  action  until  I  see  you." 

Mr.  Barker  then  said  to  me:  "  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  Thomas  Bolton,  a  hi\»ther  |)emocrat/'  So  that 
nii^ht  lie  had  a  jury  called,  ami  Alexander  Williams  was 
called  in  hefore  the  jury  and  testified  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  decoyed.  The  jury  decided  that 
these  men  were  kidnapped,  and  Mr.  Barker  that  same 
ni^ht  wrote  a  letter  to  the  (iovernor  of  New  York  for 
a  requisition  on  the  Governor  of  Ohio  for  the  men  that 
kidnapped  the  l»oys,  and  Mr. -'Barker  reijuested  me  to 
call  at  hi»»  otlicc  the  next  morning  at  *  o'clock.  I  cairn- 
to  hi-  ofh'ce  at  the  appointed  time,  and  had  not  heeli 
there  over  ten  minutes,  when  who  should  come  in  hut 
Mr.  II.  B.  Payne.  Mr.  Payne  and  I  did  not  say  much 


32 

to  each  other,  lie  appeared  a  little  coutuaot)  to  *cc  me. 
Mr.  Karker  handed  me  a  letter  to  t^ive  to  Mr.  1'oltoii, 
a i i«l  so  I  returned  that  morning  with  Alexander  \Vil- 
iiaius  hy  steamer,  ami  when  we  arrived  in  Cleveland  I 
delivered  the  prisoner  to  the  authorities,  ami  he  was 
returned  hack  to  jail.  A  day  or  two  after  the  requi 
sition  was  forwarded  to  the  <  iovernor  of  <  Miio  lor  the 
arrest  of  Jae knoll,  the  ai^ent  of  Li mien herder,  and  11. 
V.  \\  ilson,  to  answer  the  charge  as  ton  ml  hy  the  jury 
for  kidnapping.  The  otlieer  in  charge  of  the  requi 
sition  went  to  Columhus  and  presented  his  papers  to 
the  tiovernor,  who  issued  a  warrant  tor  the  arrest  of 
the  persons  named.  Jackson,  having  heard  of  this,  ran 
auay,  as  also  did  Li  mien  herder,  so  that  when  the  day  of 
trial  of  the  hoys  eame  they  were  hot  present.  The  trial, 
however,  had  not  come  «>ll,  ami  one  day,  as  1  happened 
to  t(o  to  a  meeting,  on  my  return  ahout  halt  past  nine 
in  the  evening  there  was  a  rap  at  my  door,  and  when  1 
opened  it,  1  found  to  my  surprise  Alexander  Williams. 
1  hardly  knew  what  to  do  with  William.-.  My  home 
ua>  then  on  the  corner  of  l»oml  ami  York,  (m»w  Ham 
ilton)  :  trcct,  whieh  was  then  in  the  woods.  1  dared  not 
hail »«ir  turn  in  my  house,  so  I  took  him  to  the  woods 
live  or  six  rods  olf  and  had  him  climh  a  tree  till  1  could 
find  a  place  of  safety.  One  Oearon  llamlin  was  l»uild- 
m  L!  a  one  -story  I  Tick  house  on  I'ro^peet  street,  which 
was  enclosed  hut  not  finished.  1  *^ot  some  comforters 
and  Ituilalo  ndies,  and  plaeed  tliem  in  the  huihlin^.  and 
then  1  went  hack 'to  the  woods  after  Williams,  hut  1 
had  lost  track  of  the  tree  he  was  in,  and  wandered 
ahout,  at'raid  to  call,  lest  1  should  he  heard  hy  soim>  one. 
Alter  roiis'ulerahle  search  1  found  the  tree,  had  him 
come  down,  am!  took  him  to  the  huildiiiLT,  and  kept  him 
then*  tor  several  days.  11  is  complexion  was  a  hri^ht 
mulatto.  1  made  a  composition,  and  painted  all  tin- 


visible  parts  of  the  man,  ami  made  a  very  Mark  man 
of  him,  so  ho  walked  about  the  streets  of  Cleveland 
boldly  and  no  one  recognized  him  as  Alexander  \Vil_ 
liams.  He  afterwards  left  Cleveland  tor  New  York 
State,  and,  perhaps,  went  into  Canada.  On  the  day  of 
trial  the  other  boy,  John  Houston,  was  brought  into 
Court,  but  Jaekson  and  Lindenbenjcer  not  bo-ing  at  the 
trial,  there  was  no  one  to  appear  against  the  boy,  and 
he  was  discharged. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  establishment  of  colored  school* in  Ohio,  in  which 
Iliad  taken  an  active  part-as  already  atated,  made  a 
<lr«  i<l«-«l  i  in  pro  vo  met  it  in  the  condition  ot*  the  colored 
p -oplr,  hnt  like  other  people  who  have  not  had  the 
benefits  of  education,  there  were  many  among  them  who 
were  not  from  the  force  of  circumstance*  over  honest. 
Ueform  of  course  was  needed,  and  I  undertook  in  every 
way  possible  to  do  whatever  I  could  towards  improvement 
and  advancement  of  my  people  in  this  respect.  Very 
often,  when  charges. were  brought  against  colored  men, 
i  would  go  their  bail,  in  order  that  they  might  have  a 
fair  opportunity  to  prepare  for  trial  and  test  the  truth  of 
the  charge,  'and  being  a  property  owner,  1  was  called 
upon  in  many  cases  for  bail,  which  1  seldom  refused. 
On  one  occasion,  when  lion.  Samuel  Starkweather  was 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  I'lcas,  a  colored  man  by 
the  name  <»f  Archie  Lorton  was  arrested  for  horse  steal 
ing,  and  I  went  bis  bail.  Shortly  after  1  bailed  him,  he 
packed  up  his  things  and  ran  away  to  Canada.  As  soon 
as  I  ascertained  where  be  was,  1  employed  l>eputy  Sheriff 
S.  I*,  I'osworth  to  go  with  me  to  Canada  and  arrest 
and  bring  him  back.  \Ve  went  to  iMroit  and  crossed 
over  into  Windsor,  and  thence  proceeded  to  London. 
where  1  got  track  of  him.  i  found  that  he  was  at  a  lit 
tle  town  call,  d  Watci  ford,  twelve  miles  west  of  London. 
We  proceeded  to  a  magistrate  in  London  in  order  to 
procure  a  warrant  for  his  arrest.  The  magistrate  claimed 
(bat  be  bad  no  jurisdiction  in  the  matter,  and  referred 
me  to  another  magistrate,  who  again  referred  me  to 
what  they  called  the  high  magistrate.  1  went  to  the 
high  magistrate,  and  be  also  refused  to  ir^ue  a  warrant, 

(34) 


for  tho  reason  tliat  he  had  no  jurisdiction  in  the  matter. 
F  then  went  .and  employed  a  lawyer,  ami  the  lawyer 
went  with  in*'  to  tlu»  hijih  magistrate  ami  ilemafi«l«*«l  a 
warrant;  ami  al'ti»r  convincing  -the  magistrate  that  In* 
was  justified  in  issuing  a  warrant,  it  was  «*rante«l.  We 
thru  proceeded  to  Waterford  and  arrested  Lorton  a  lit 
tle  alter  dark,  and  then  put  up  at  tin-  .\m«-ri«-an  I!--!.!. 
Tin*  ISailiflf  left  tin*  prisoner  in  my  charge,  and  1  kept 
waMi  ovt«r  him  all  ni^ht,  and  tin-  m\\t  niorninir  th«» 
l»aditf' took  him  out  of  my  hands  and  |»la«-i'd  him  in  jail, 
ami  H'jiortvd  to  tlu*  Mayor  of  tin*  rity,  who  ordnr«l  tin* 
prisont'i*  to  l»r  hron<r|it  hrt'orr  him  on  Monday  morning 
at  !•  oVIm-k.  <>n  our  way  to  tin*  Mayor's  otli«-««  he 
shouted  that  he  was  a  slavo,  and  that  wo  \vnv  kidnajt- 
|»rrs%  and  wrn»  taking  him  hark  into  slavery.  In  a  tew 
minutes  wo  woro  surrounded  hy  forty  or  titty  inl'uriated 
Colored  men,  ami  wo  oxpeeted  every  moment  that  they 
would  moh  us.  The  deputy  undertook  to  paeiliy  them, 
hut  liiey  would  not  listen  to  him,  and  at  length  I  sue- 
ei'eded  in  ^ottin^  them  to  hoar  mo.  I  told  Iliotii  how 
tho  matter  was,  and  thoy  l>elioved  my  statement,  and 
soi no  of  them  cxelaimod  that  if  ho  was  a  horse  thiet  they 
did  not  want  him  there,  and  woro  iclad  to  see  him  re 
moved. 

Lorton,  having  loft  this  wife  in  Waterlord,  ho  then  ami 
there  agreed  that  if  wo  would  «jo  haok.  to  \Vater«ord  and 
meet  his  wife,  that  he  would  <£o  with  us  to  Port  Stanley 
without  a  hearing.  \Ve  eonsentetl  to  do  this  and  started 
toward  Waterlord,  and  on  the  way  we  met  tho  stairo 
roininrr  towards  L  M.»don  with  the  prisoner's  wife.  We 
stopped  tho  stajjo,  and  upon  her  statement  that  she  had 
left  somothinir  hehind,  and  that  she  must  c"  l>a«'k  to 
Watortord,  I  agreed  to  take  her  plaoo  in  the  staj^o,  and 
that  she  shmild  take  my  place  in  tho  carriage  with  the 
hailitf.  They  were  to  proceed  on  to  Watert'ord,  and  the 


36 

prisoner  promised  if  that  wa*  done  he  would  go  back  to  the 
United  State.-  without  insisting  on  a  trial  in  Canada. 

1  took  'her  place  in  the  stage  accordingly,  and  took 
charge  of  her  haggage,  which  I  checked  to  Detroit.  I 
agreed  to  take  the  railroad  and  meet  the  party  at  Lohi 
Station,  the  tirst  station  after  leaving  London  fur  \Vind- 
sor.  I  met  them  at  Lohi  Station  as  agreed  on,  and  then 
the  prisoner  refused  to  accompany  us  to  the  United 
States,  whielr  I  had  in  part  anticipated.  Then  we  had 
to  go  hark  to  London,  and  after  we  arrived  there,  the 
Mayor  ordered  him  to  In*  put  in  jail  till  I  could  get  a 
requisition,  limiting  the  time  to  three  weeks.  I  then 
went  home,  ami  proceeded  at  once  to  Columhiis  and 
called  on  Governor  Mcdill.  lie  said  that  he  had  no 
jurisdiction  outside  of  the  United  States,  and  therefore 
could  not  grant  a  requisition,  hut  referred  me  to  the 
Secretary  of  Stale  Samuel  Williamson,  Ks»j.,  who  was 
then  Prosecuting  Attorney  in  Cleveland,  at  my  re- 
<|iicst,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the 
reply  of  the  Secretary  of  State  was,  that  horse  stealing 
was  grand  larceny,  and  did  not  come  within  the  category 
of  the  Ashhiirton  Treaty,  and  that  he  had  no  jurisdiction 
to  issue  a  requisition  in  the  matter.  I  was  therefore 
left  without  any  remedy,  and  had  hccn  put  to  great  ex 
pense  in  attempting  to  hring  Lorton  hack. 

Some  time  afterwards,  Lorton  committed  some  depre 
dation  in  Canada  and  tied  to  Adrian.  Michigan,  and  vas 
soon  as  1  heard  of  his  being  there,  I  got  the  necessary 
requisition  from  the  Governor,  and  had  him  arrested 
and  brought  to  Cleveland,  lie  was  tried,  convicted, 
ami  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for  seven  years. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

I  will  state  a  circumstance  that  may  perhaps  be  of 
some  interest,  that  occurred  shortly  before  the  war: 
A  young  colored  girl  ran  away  tVoin  Wheeling.  Va., 
and  came  to  Cleveland,  ami  took  up  her  residence1  in 
the  family  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Am  hush.  After  she  remained 
there  a  short  period  of  time,  it  was  ascertained  hy  her 
owner.s  as  to  her  whereabouts,  and  they  came  to  Cleve 
land  in  search  of  her.  The  girl  went  hy  the  name  of 
Lucy,  and  she  had  sought  employment  in  the  family  of 
George  A.  Benedict,  ami  she.  left  Amhiish  and  went  to 
Benedict's.  As  soon  as  her  owners,  who  were  father 
and  son,  named  Uoshorn,  arrived  in  Cleveland,  they 
ohtained  a  warrant  for  the  girl's  arrest,  which  was 
placed  in  the  hand*  of  Seth  A.  Ahhey,  then  United 
States  Marshal,  ami  she  was  arrested  hy  him  and  placed 
in  the  county  jail.  A  numhcr  of  the  citizens  of  Cleve 
land  immediately  employed  Hon.  R.  1*.  Spalding  on 
behalf  of  the  girl,  and  she  was  taken  out  of  the  custody 
of  the  Marshal,  on  a  writ  of  hnlmts  cnrpH*  issued  hy 
Judge  Tilden,  Probate  Judge  of  Cuyah«»ga  County. 
When  they  were  ready  for  hearing, . I ud ge  Tilden  in- 
<piircd  of  Mr.  Spalding  whether  he  desired  the  prisoner 
to  ho  brought  into  his  court,  .fudge  Spalding  replied 
that  the  investigation  could  proceed  without  her  pres 
ence.  Thereupon,  after  a  hearing  had.  .fudge  Tilden 
remanded  her  hack  again  into  the  custody  of  the  Mar 
shal,  who  kept  her  in  jail. 

She  was  brought  before  Judge  Wilson,  U.  S.  District 
Judge.  On  her  way  to  the  Court  a  crowd  of  people 
had  gathered  near  the  I'oftt-oftice  building,  in  which 
the  Court  was  held,  and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  ex- 

(.37) 


38 

citement  about  the  girl.  One  of  the  men  in  the  crowd 
approached  a  colored  man  by  the  name  of  (*.  M.  Rich 
ardson,  who  had  been  a  resident  of  Cleveland  for  a 
number  of  year..,  and  dealt  Mr.  Uichardson  a  Ftunning 
I »!•  •  w  on  tin*  ln-.nl,  which  felled  him  to  the  ground. 
Tin-  i n. HI  evidently  tin >u -lit  that  Mr.  Richardson  was 
there  lor  the  purpose  of  reselling  tin*  girl.  Another 
man  in  tin-  en»\\d,  an  irishman,  stepped  up  to  a  -colored 
man  by  the  name  of  Mini -mi,  and  raised  a  eluh  and 
was  about  to  strike  him,  when  lion.  Jabex  M.  Kit--h, 
who  happened  to  lie  near,  interposed,  and  prevented 
the  thivati'iied  hlow. 

The  girl  wan  brought  into  the  IT.  S.  Court  room,  and 
IM-IMIV  the  In  iicinir  etmimeiieed,  Mr.  Ambush  had  some 
words  with  young  <ioshorn,  right  in  the  Court  room, 
and  pi>lols  were  drawn  4111  both  sides,  but  they  were 
ptvxriiled  iVoin  tiring  by  tho  interposition  of  people  in 
the  Court  room.  After  the  trial  the  Judge  ordered  the 
u'irl  to  be.  deliverrtl  up  to  her  master,  who  took  her 
havk.with  him  to  Wheeling,  where  she  was  placed  in 
jail  and  severely  punished. 

One  of  the  arguments  among  the  people  generally, 
why  the  girl  should  be  given  up  was,  that  it  might  pre 
vent  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the  South,  which  perhaps 
is  an  indieation  of  the  sentiment  then  prevailing.  The 
war,  however,  was  sure  to  eome,  and  was  not  the  result 
of  any  wrangling  over  a  eaptive  female,  as  some  of  the 
wars  we  read  of  in  history,  but  was  founded  upon 
sterner  .tin I  nobler  principled.  Not  the  fate  of  a  single 
individual,  but  of  a  whole  raee,  was  involved  in  the 
great  struggle  which  utter  ward*  burst  forth,  and  opened 
the  tlood-gates  of  liberty. 

When  the  Union  Army  arrived  in  Wheeling,  the  girl 
Was  liberated,  and  her  master,  Mr.  (ioshorn,  who  had 


39 

become  a  prisoner  of  war,  was  incarcerated  in  the  same 
jail  in  which  he  ha<l  confined  Lucy. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  in  iSiJl,  the  con 
dition  of  the  colored  people  was  such,  that  not  having 
the  privilege  of  universal  suffrage,  they  had  not  the 
opportunity  to  exercise  a  very  wide  or  extended-  intlit- 
emv  upon  the  living  question  which  then  agitated  the 
country,  and,  as  a  consequence,  they  were  left  almost 
powerless  to  organize  or  do  anything  in  en-operation 
with  the  white  people  towards  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion,  or  towards  the  emancipation  of  their  race. 
Nevertheless,  there  were  a  great  many  white  citi/cns 
who  were  deeply  in  sympathy  with  the  colored  race. 

On  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  President,  tin-  Re- 
pnhiican  party  made  very  rapid  strides  towards  its  pie>- 
ciit  strength  and  unity,  and  many  ot' the  citizens  of 
Cleveland,  among  whom  1  might  mention  lion.  \).  l» 
Tddcn,  John  llmitington,  Win.  I*.  Fogg,  lion.  Sherlo.-k 
J.  Andrews,  lion.  R.  F.  Payne,  Charles  Stetson,  Ksq., 
John  A.  Foot,  Ksq.,  J.M.  lloyt,  Ks<|.,  Kdward  Wade. 
KSIJ.,  <icorge  A.  Benedict,  Kdwin  Cowlcs,  Rev.  l>r. 
Aikcn,  Ucv.  Levi  Tucker,  M.  <'.  Yoiiniflovc,  Richard  ('. 
Parsons,  and  many  others,  were  active  Uepublicans  at 
the  t  inn-,  and  took  an  earnest  part  in  ail  the  delibera 
tions  of  the  Republican  party. 

Whenever  the  colored  people  made  any  movement, 
or  needed  any  advice,  they  consulted  with  these  respect 
ive  gentlemen.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Aiken  especially,  inter 
ested  himself  in  behalf  of  the  condition  of  the  colored 
people.  Lon«j  lie  fore,  when  the  fugitive  slave  law  was 
hcin«?  passed,  ut  a  meeting  held  at  the  First  Presbyte 
rian  Church,  of  which  he  was  the  pant  or,  he  strongly 
denounced  that  law,  and  expressed  sentiments  in  favor 
of  resisting  its  enforcement.  At  that  meeting  it  was 
resolved,  that  in  case  of  the  an  cat  of  a  fugitive  slave, 


40 

the  church  bells  of  the  city  should  be  rung  as  notice  to 
'the  people  of  the  arrest.  Mr.  M.  (.'.  Younglove  offered 
a  reward  of  live  dollars  to  the  sexton  who  should  on 
such  an  oeeiisioii  ring  the  first  l»ell.  Uev.  Dr.  Aikcn 
afterwards  proved  to  be  a  powerful  friend  to  the  co|- 
otvd  people,  and  aided  them  by  his  eoiinsel  in  their 
del  i  be  rat  ions. 

When  the  rebellion  first  broke  out,  1  undertook  to 
have  a  meeting  ealled  of  the  colored  people  of  Cleve 
land,  and.  in  eonjiiiietion  with  others,  a  meeting  was 
called  at  the  National  Hall,  on  the  Public  Square.  It 
was  proposed  at  that  meeting  that  the  colored  people  of 
Cleveland  should  organize- military  eompanies  t<i  assist 
in  put  ting  down  the  rebellion,  and  it  wa*  also  proposed 
that  an  application  should  IK'  made  to  the  (iovcrnor  for 
that  purpose.  But  when  the  committee  delegated  for 
that  purpose  laid  our  request  before  the  IJovernor,  he 
declined  to  accept  it,  giving  as  a  reason,  that  the  matter 
xva;  iii  the  hands  of  the  white  people,  and  that  they 
would  h.kc  eare  of  it.  When  iiovernor  Kroiigh  was 
elretfd,  a  similar  meeting  was  called, and  another  appli 
cation  for  the  same  purpose  was  made  to  (iovcrnor 
Krough,  but  with  no  better  result.  In  some  of  the  Now 
Knglaiid  States  however,  they  had  permitted  rolored 
eoiupaiiies  to  bo  formed,  and  many  of  the  colored  men 
of  .Cleveland  left  Ohio  and  went  to  Massachusetts,  ami 
joined  colored  regiments  there  funned,  among  others. 
Win.  Underbill,  John  lirown  and  Charles  Brown,  sons 
of  John  ISrown,  (otherwise  known  as  John  Brown,  the 
barber,)  Joseph  Uicbardson  and  Benjamin  Richardson, 
and  others.  Shortly  afterwards  the  proclamation  of 
emancipation  was  issued,  and  then  it  was  that  colored 
companies  began  to  organ i/e  in  Ohio,  and  from  that 
time  on,  the  intlueiice  of  the  colored  people  became 
more  powerful.  The  resiHtance  at  that  time  of  the 


41 

leading  copperheads  was  very  hitter,  and  a  strong  aver 
sion  ami  repugnance  was  manifested  hv  many  of  them 
against  the  colored  people  taking  part  in  puhlie  affairs. 
The  prejudice  then  existing,  and  which  I  suppose  exist 
ed  in  every  similar  instance  in  history,  where  a  people 
who  have  heen  looked  upon  as  a  despised  race,  ami 
have  risen  ahovc  the  condition  in  which  they  have  heen. 
placed  hy  unfortunate  circumstances,  has  pretty  well 
worn  away  in  the  Northern  States,  and  it  is  not  strange 
to  see  a  colored  man  pro|  osc  measures  in  common  with 
his  white  fellow-citizens  for  the  common  weal  and  hen- 
etit  of  all.  Distinctions  which  are  founded  on  human 
policy,  without  reference  to  the  divine  or  natural  law, 
and  which  tend  to  the  degradation  of  a  set  of  human 
heings,  cannot  he  lasting,  and  must  sooner  or  later  siie- 
cumh  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and  humanity,  Would 
this  were  accomplished  in  the  Southern  States.  There 
intimidation  and  threats  make  the  life  of  the  colored 
man  a  thousand  times  more  miscrahlc  than  the  worst 
condition  of  hondagc.  Hut  as  right  will  sooner  or  later 
prevail,  the  day  will  come  when  another  nemesis  will 
overtake  ami  destroy  the  evil  at  the  South. 

It  has  heen  demonstrated  that  an  intelligent  colored 
man  can  he  as  good  a  citizen  as  an  intelligent  white 
man,  and  the  same  reasoning  will  hold  good  hetween 
an  ignorant  colored  man  and  an  ignorant  white  man. 

I  am  now  eighty-three  years  of  age,  and  I  thank  <Jod 
that  he  has  spared  my  life  long  enouirh  to  witness  the 
change  wrought  in  the  condition  of  the  colored  people. 
We  read  of  the  miraculous  deliverance  of  the  Israelites 
from  1»< milage.  It  seems  hardly  less  than  a  miracle  that 
has  heen  the  means  of  unloosening  the  shackles  of  the 
colored  man.  I  lirinly  hclieve  it  to  he  the  interposition 
of  Divine  Providence  wrought  through  the  instrumen 
tality  of  the  Republican  party. 

'' 


42 

In  eonctiiriion,  1  ran  only  say  as  <li<l  Simeon  of  old, 
u  hen  ho  saw  the  protniBetl  Me>*iah,  **  No\y,  Lor«l,  lt»t- 
•fct»-s(  Hi. MI  thy  servant  tlepart  in  |»ea«*e  ueeonling  to  thy 
*•  Wonl,  tor  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation/' 


"S 


